Women's Soccer

Carla
DeSantis is entering her second season as the head women's soccer
coach at UMass Dartmouth. Her 2008 season with the Corsairs
produced a 4-10-4 overall record. In eight seasons as a head coach
DeSantis sports a 40-96-7 record.

DeSantis become the third women's soccer coach and the
first full-time head women's soccer coach in UMass Dartmouth
history when she joined the staff prior to the 2008 season. She
replaced Alex Silva, who stepped down after 12 seasons after the
2007 season.

DeSantis joined the Corsairs after coaching at Coast Guard for four
years. This past year, she served as a strength and conditioning
instructor at Coast Guard. She also currently serves the Olympic
Development Program as a regional senior staff coach for Region I,
and a head staff coach for Soccer Rhode Island.

DeSantis came to Coast Guard after stints as an assistant coach at
both Middle Tennessee State and Minnesota State-Mankato. From 1995
through 1998, she served as the first head women's soccer coach at
Tulane, where she led the Green Wave to three post-season
appearances in the first four years of the program. Prior to
coaching at Tulane, DeSantis was an assistant at George Washington
for two seasons
. She also served as a coach with the Olympic Development Program
in both Louisiana and Minnesota.

A native of Sudbury, MA, DeSantis graduated from the University of
Massachusetts in Amherst, where she earned All-Region, All New
England and NCAA Division I All-American honors as a goalkeeper in
soccer. A two-sport student-athlete, she also threw the javelin for
the track and field team, earning All-East honors and being named
the Two-Sport Female Athlete of the Year at UMass for the 1988-89
season. Her teams at UMass twice advanced to the Final Four,
hosting the NCAA Division I Finals in 1987 and losing in the
championship game to North Carolina.

DeSantis began her coaching career at Lincoln-Sudbury High School
and was in the United States national team pool, playing on the
U.S. "B" team during the 1991 World Cup. She then went on to George
Washington, and began the program at Tulane before leaving to earn
her master's degree at Middle Tennessee State, and was an assistant
coach at Minnesota State-Mankato before joining the staff at Coast
Guard. DeSantis holds a United States Soccer Federation "A"
coaching license and a premier diploma from the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America.

"I'm really excited about the opportunity at UMass Dartmouth," said
DeSantis. "With the move to a full-time position, the commitment
level is being elevated, and I am excited to be coming in as part
of the new, positive changes that are taking place. I think there's
a lot of talent in this region, the university in a really great
location, and we have some great leadership and direction. It's a
unique opportunity, and one that I'm looking forward to being a
part of."

"We are excited to have Carla DeSantis here as part of the Corsair
family," said UMass Dartmouth Director of Athletics Ian Day."She
has a wealth of experience, the highest coaching credentials you
can have and is a strong believer in academics, which fits
perfectly with our philosophy. We look forward to her arrival at
UMass Dartmouth."